Tuesday, July 31, 2007

"Grasshopper" Golf Cart (1961)


The March 5, 1961 Chicago Tribune ran this Closer Than We Think! strip, showcasing the golf cart of the future. Hey, it can't all be starving children and future shock.

To save steps for the par-shooter of the future, a Tokyo firm has designed a remote-control golf cart, based on the same principles that permit a television viewer to change channels without leaving his chair. Once our golfer arrived at the edge of a green or bad rough, he would walk to the ball, take his shot, and then summon his cart by voice or button as he moved along toward the nineteenth hole.

Still another advance, lacking in the Japanese concept, lies ahead. It's the "ground effect machine" principle, through which the cart could float on a cushion of air instead of riding on the turf. No more fairway flattening in the future!


See also:
Closer Than We Think! (1958-1963)
Sport in Space Colonies (1977)
Olympic Games on the Moon in 2020 (1979)
Future Without Football (Daily Review, 1976)
Lunar High Jump (1979)

2 comments:

Arkonbey said...

they got one thing right: however modern the technology, some creepy,overweight boor will use it for 'hilarious' hijinks!

Anonymous said...

I noticed the same thing -- leering old weirdo.

I also like how they had a solar collector double as an umbrella (nice), but then couldn't think to integrate the collector's wiring into one of the roof's 3 support arms!